Cheesey Q's

This recipe just intrigued me, so I had to give it a shot.  It was good as dinner, but I also think it would make a great dip to bring to a party. The kids ate it, but I would say they didn't love it.  Make sure to put a splash of hot sauce on it!

Servings 6-8

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1-15 oz jar cheese whiz
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1.4 cup brown sugar

Directions
Brown hamburger and onion; drain.  Add remaining ingredients and heat.  Serve on buns or with tortilla chips.

Rustic Chicken

Sometimes...well ok most of my free time, I spend searching for new recipes to try.  I have to say that I am pretty lucky to have a husband who is willing to try whatever I want to make. Of course that means, I doing the cooking.  When I found this one, chicken, artichokes, tomatoes and a crockpot I was sold immediatly.  It was very yummy!  I left the mushrooms out because the hubby does not like them.  Next time, I think I might throw some green olives into it.  PS- I know the picture makes it loook a little bland, but it was not.

Servings 4-6

Ingredients:
Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders or breast
15 ounce can diced tomatoes
15 ounces artichoke hearts
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 packet dry chicken gravy mix
1/4 cup chicken broth
Salt/pepper

Directions:
1- Combine the chicken broth, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and gravy in the crockpot. Stir well.
2- Add the chicken and mushrooms. Stir until evenly covered in the tomato/mushroom sauce.
3- Season lightly with salt and pepper.
4- Cook 8 hours on low. Serve over rice or egg noodles.

 *To Make ahead/Freezer meal- Place all ingredients in a gallon sized freezer bag or ovenproof/disposable baking pan. Seal freezer bag while removing any excess air / cover ovenproof/disposable baking pan and freeze. When ready to prepare, remove from freezer to thaw. Place in crockpot, cook on low 6-8 hours.

Crockpot Chicken and Gravy

The name says it all!  This fast & simple dinner will have you asking, why didn't I think of this?  This is my MIL's recipe.  I love it.  Plus the leftover chicken and gravy freeze and reheat well. 

Servings 6

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
Your choice of seasoning
1 onion- sliced
Bullion cube- optional
1/4- 1/2 cup Flour depending on how much juice you get from your chicken.
3/4-1 cup Water (if you don't get much juice, I didn't) optional
Egg noodles/rice or potato's

Directions:
Take a whole chicken, take innards out & rinse inside & outside. Pat dry. Place salt & pepper & whatever seasoning you want on it (I did a rosemary garlic). Brown in crisco on all sides. Place in crockpot with chopped onion. Cover & cook on low. After 6 hours or so, remove chicken, shred & remove bones. Make gravy with chicken juice in crockpot ( can add chicken bullion cube, for extra flavor). Flour & juice from chicken, whisk together. Until smooth. Add shredded chicken back to crockpot & turn on high to let gravy thicken up (about an hour). Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Budget- 1 whole chicken $3.89, 1 onion .50, Bullion cube ??? (can't find my receipt) and flour is a staple in most houses.  So, I will say $5.50 (on the high side).  Dinner minus the noodles which are inexpensive Around .91 cents per person.!!!  That makes dinner even more delicious. 

Note- Ignore the garlic bread, it was really gross!!

Slow Cooked London Broil

Now, London broil used to be a very inexpensive cut of meat.  But nowadays, not so much.  However, you can catch some pretty good sales out there on it, if you keep your eyes open!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
2 pounds flank steak (can substitute chuck roast)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

Directions:
Place meat in the bottom of the slow cooker; if necessary, slice meat to make it fit!

In a medium bowl, mix together mushroom and tomato soup. Pour mixture over beef. Sprinkle dry onion soup mix over top.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.  serve with rice, mashed potato's or noodles and your choice of vegetable.

*To Make ahead/Freezer meal- Place beef in a gallon sized freezer bag or ovenproof/disposable baking pan. Pour soups over top of beef, toss to coat. Seal freezer bag while removing any excess air / cover ovenproof/disposable baking pan and freeze. When ready to prepare, remove from freezer to thaw. Place in crockpot and sprinkle dry soup over the top.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Budget meal break down- Beef $6.36, can of mushroom soup .75, can of tomato soup .75, dry onion soup mix .64.  Total without sides, $8.50.  A total of $2.12 per person.  There was enough gravy, that you could use a 3 pound roast and have plenty to go around.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

A slight different twist on mexican.  I thought my kids would really like this recipe, because they could hold it in their hands and eat it. But alas, all they ate was the filling.   I did not serve this with any mexican rice & I think it needs a little extra something on the side.  I served it with a avocado ranch sauce. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (4 oz) cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro cilantro
2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated Pepperjack cheese
About 20 (6 inch) small flour or corn tortillas
Salt
Cooking spray

Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and Pepperjack cheese and combine well.
Place 2-3 Tablespoons of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges and roll it up as tight as you can. Place seam side down on the baking sheet.
Lay all of the filled taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle some salt on top.
Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Options for dippers-dip these in a "salsa ranch" dip (equal parts salsa and ranch dressing, but it's also great with guacamole, salsa or avocado ranch sauce.

Avacado Ranch Sauce
1 cup ranch dressing
½ avocado, smashed

1 teaspoon lime juice

2 Tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped

Prepare the ranch dressing, then stir in the lime juice, mashed avocado and cilantro leaves. Chill until ready to serve.

Venison Roast

We had some deer meat given to us, so we thought we would give it a shot.  While this was a good recipe, we have decided, we are not deer meat people. I would really like to see how this recipe turns out with a beef roast.  The meat was very tender and had good flavor, but we could not get over the subtle gamey flavor.

Servings: 4-6

Ingrdients

Venison- roast- or stew meat
salt and paper to taste
3/4 cup catchup
1 teaspoon brown sugar
bottle of beer
1 large onion sliced

Directions:

Brown meat in olive oil.  Combine catchup, brown sugar and beer.  Pour over browned meat and add onions.  Simmer covered for 1.5-2 hours.  If using stew meat, check after 1 hour or place in crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes.  

Nutella Croissants

First, let me apologize for not taking a picture.  However, everyone knows what a stuffed croissant looks like, right?  Does your family have an addiction to Nutella, like we do?  These were great, made them & just heated them up for about 10 seconds in the microwave.  Perfect with the morning coffee.

Servings-???? depends on how many you want to eat.

Ingrdients
Nutella
Roll of Refrigerated Crescents ( Reduced Fat also works)

 

Instructions

Preheat Oven To 375.  Unroll Crescent Rolls – with the larger section facing you.  Place one rounded tablespoon of Nutella on the larger section. Roll the dough into croissant shape and tuck the edges under to help seal in the chocolate.  Place croissants onto a cookie tray. Place tray into the oven and cook until golden brown about 15 – 20 minutes.

Optional:  Place some nutella in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds in the microwave.  Drizzle over cooked croissants.